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There seems to be some confusion as to who Elvis Costello really thinks he is.
For some reason, this Englishman, who could pass for Buddy Holly's black-sheep kid brother, has scared the hell out of radio programmers. The man never seems to make it over the air waves, despite the fact that he indulges outrageously in the music that has dominated radio for the past 15 years.
Mention Costello in the wrong circle, and he may be recognized as "that cheap English punk."
Back to the labels again. It appeared that Costello was the single figurehead, instigator and king of the late 1970s punk/new wave invasion, hitting the scene about the time of the death of another Elvis, who was also occasionally referred to as The King. If nothing else, he made a wonderfully irreverent splash.
Costello's no punk. He is just another burned, cynical pseudo-romantic songwriter who happens to have an excellent ability for putting those emotions into lyrics. And, as seems to have become a prerequisite for new wave material, he borrows extensively from mid-'50s pop influences.
Then what seems to be the trouble with Costello's public image?
The question won't be resolved with Elvis Costello and the Attractions' latest effort, Get Happy!! It's ironic to look at the title stamped over the bright pastels on the cover and then listen to its musical content. You can almost understand why this mysterious, unassuming figure perplexes the folks who compile radio playlists.
On paper, Costello's music looks like the fun and lively, sad and romantic stuff that pop heroes are made of. But while listening to the music, one could be excused for wondering why they are not getting happy, or fail to feel profoundly moved by the truly classic lyrics.
Not clearing this last hurdle to perfect pop/rock stardom as we know it doesn't seem to be any oversight on Costello's part. He retains a punk posture to ensure that no one would mistakenly view his work as harmless. While Linda Ronstadt can recognize the commercial potential of Costello and capitalize on it, Elvis himself chooses to remain terse and vengeful in much of his vocal delivery. And, rather than involve the listener in his music, he often comes off more as a lecturing from the wise veteran on who and what to watch out for in this big, nasty world.
But Costello can temper his cynicism with a wry, if not witty, twisting of words. Once you understand where he's coming from, he does have a lot to offer the listener. Get Happy!! contains 20 songs, enough for a double album, on a single platter. In the tradition of mid-'60s pop, most songs hover around two minutes.
Though you could grow callouses by listening to 45 straight minutes of Elvis Costello, the album has several catchy, driving and successful moments. Among the best are "Love For Tender," a short, but not sweet up-tempo dance number. "The Imposter," is interesting for its background organ that sounds as though it were dubbed straight from a roller rink or hockey game. Finally, there are "Opportunity" and "Secondary Modern" which find Costello at his slow brooding best.
Other brief but good examples of Costello's fine, sardonic songwriting ability include "King Horse," "Motel Matches" and the especially effective "Black and White World." But, perhaps the album's best piece is "Riot Act." Slow and anguishing, it is another bum chapter in Elvis' fickle romantic life. We almost hear him falling to his knees as his vocals gain an intensity unmatched elsewhere on the album. In a rare case on Get Happy!!, he seems to be involving the listener.
Costello has an unparalleled ability to mesh all the fun of past pop music ideals with the mechanized hum of a corporate society. If he is the voice of future music as he's been touted to be these past three years, things are bound to be interesting, if not exactly cheerful, when he finally gets there.
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